Driver crashes into police cruiser on Dartmouth highway

Halifax Regional Police say a driver who crashed into a parked police cruiser early Sunday morning in Dartmouth was showing signs of impairment.

According to a police news release, the crash happened around 5:15 a.m.on Highway 111, where an officer was helping another motorist with a vehicle breakdown.

The news release says a 40-year-old woman from Dartmouth crashed directly into the police cruiser after failing to pass around the two parked vehicles. She and the police officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital.

Police say the woman refused to comply with a demand for a blood sample, and is now facing a criminalcharge for that refusal. Police can make a blood demand if there are reasonable grounds to believe a driver is impaired by drugs, or if a driver is unable to provide a breath sample to detect alcohol.

The woman will appear in provincial court at a later date.

Highway 111 southbound between the MacKay Bridge and Victoria Road extension was closed for investigators following the crash but has since reopened.